Automobile-seat.



W. C. DURANT.

AUTOMOBILE SEAT.

APPLICATION 31mm 0014, 1913,

1,1 1 6,041. Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES THE NORRIS PETERS C13, PHOTO-LITHO.. WASHINGTON, n. C.

W. C. DURANT.

AUTOMOBILE SEAT.

APPLICATION FILED 001. 4, 1913.

1 1 1 6,041. Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

2 SHEBTS--SHEET 2.

W/ T/VE SSE S IAIVENTOR THE NORRIS PETERS C0 FHOTO-LITh-h WASHINGIUN. D. C.

K To all whom it may concern P TENT OFFICE wInLrAM c. DURANT, or New YORK, N. Y. I

AoroMoBILE-snatr.

Be it known that LWILLI M C. DURANT,

a citizen :ofthe United States ofAmerica, and a resident of the city;- county, andx-State,

of New York, .ha vewinventeda 'newand useful I Improvement Automobile-Seats and I do; hereby declare -;the: following to be a full, clear, and: exact'odescription thereof. Gne of the objects of my invention is to construct aiself contained seat-for an auto v hereinafter descriptionw It is-well known that heretofore the seats mobile of narrow width, gso'tha t it .will accommodate-severaL persons :therein,f with safety and comfort. i a 1 i The other; objects will appear from the in a roadsterqor runaboutrcarwere not-bf sufficient ;w1dth to make ut possible to. accommodate therein three persons comfortably when riding merely as-passengers, or

permit @the driver; andi .two' passengers to sit comfortably. therein, and at; the-, -same time enable the driv'en-toioperate the ma chine comfortably, successfullywand safely.

-- So also: in small touring ;cars of medium m ordinary widthcar .of mediumi-sizeto hold three people comfortably,andiwhen 'my in- 1 size,. neither seat accommodated; comfortably three people.

lVi h theuse of my inventio ticafble to so constructitheurear seatof an vention is. applied to the front seat which would otherwise carry but one passenger besides the driver, it will permit two: passengers t'o beiseated therein: in additionlto'the driver of-zthe car, and at the same time allow suflicient elbow room for the driver to operate the machine comfortably,successfully and safely, withoutcrowding the passengers seated with him..-. I

In additionto these 'greatqadvantages bederived from my. inventionin that: three passengers may be comfortably seatedmon.

the. rear-seat: or that. twowpassengers and the chaufieu-r or: driver can rideiin' comfort upon: a front seat, iwhile the driver is left free to operate the car' withoutsbeing crowdedby the passenger ;next-.to:him=,-thus insuring vnotonly comfortof all: concerned but their safety as welL another advantage of my invention is that the. seats of aniordinary sized touring ,or, other.- style ofzzcar can be made much narrower than heretofore, with consequent reduction in :the Weight and' the cost ofthe car, dueito the savingzof material Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 4, 1913.

n, it is prac-.

Serial No. 793,356.

'which would otherwise be used in the constructlon of the seats and the bodies thereof.

Patented Nov. 3,1914. I i

To these ends the invention consists in the arrangement of parts illustrated more particularly in the accompanying drawings, forming; a part of the specification, in which:

Figure 1 isia front elevation of-an automobile seat containingmy. invention. Fig.

2 is a'plan view of an automobile seatshowmg mya-nvent on inaanother aspect thereof;

Fig. 3' is asection' of an automobile seat-on the'line of Fig.1. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a removablesection ofthe back cushion, which is shown in place in Fig.1, removed in Fig: 2 and in section in Fig; 3.

Fig. 5 is a plan of a modification of my invent1on. F1g.,6 1s a- SGClJlOIl'Of Fig. 5 on the line 66.- Fig. 7 is a plan ofanother form. of my invention' vFig. -8 is-a section on the line 88 of ?Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a perspective view ofa: removable element to be applied to the middle sitting in'the construction. shown in Figs; 5 and 7,as shown in dotted lines in Fig. :7. l l

In the drawings'the same reference nu meralsapply to similar elements in the senarate views.

1' represents the back of an automobile seat, 2 the (arms, 3 the. removable" spring cushion,:4 thesuppo-rt upon which the re movable spring cushion rests, '5 a removable In .the' preferred form of my invention, 1

illustrated :in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive,the seat is preferably upholstered,,in the main in the .way 3 common tor-automobile seats.

There is provided a sectional space Tin the center-of the back extending from the top ofthe back to the fixed" support at thebot tom',:on which theseat cushion rests. :This space is in width substantially one-third'of 1 theentire width of the back of the seat, measuring from inside the respective arms. In this space'the upholstered cushion 5 is fitted. .Vhen in place, theback of the seat will have .theappearance of an ordinary seat. This sectional piece of cushion upholstery 5=is provided at its topwith a flap -8 ofleather or similar material, preferably of .the-same material-which is usedfor its covering/and. which extends for a predeter mined distance depending upon the thickness of the back of the seat to which the cushion is to be secured.

In the outer edge of the flap eyelets 9 are provided which fit over fastening means 10, which may be the usual type of curtain fasteners common to automobiles. This fastening means holds the flap in place, and con sequently assists in holding the sectional cushion in the space 7 provided therefor. The cushion section, however, fits the space closely and the lower end extends down to the support for the seat cushion so that it is also retained in place by friction against the upholstered side of the space, and also because the end of the sectional cushion extends down the back and to the'rear of the rear edge of the seat cushion. These curtain fasteners 10 may be so placed on the rear seat that when the cushion 5 is removed they may be used to secure the lower end of the back curtain flap thereto.

When the cushion 5 is removed the sittings in the seats are then in what may be termed an echelon arrangement. The person who is seated in the middle of the seat is thus" enabled to move backward a distance equal to the depth of the back space, and thereby free the trunk of the body, the hips, the shoulders and the arms from interference with the free play and exercise of the body and arms of the driver or chauffeur, if in the front seat, and also make the riding comfortable for the two passengers. Likewise, the three passengers in the rear seat are made comfortable.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have shown a modification of the invention, in which the auto1no-- bile seat is shown as upholstered in the way usual for seats in drays or runabouts. The back of this seat is curved rearwardly from points situated about one-third from each end thereof, thus forming a sitting in'the rear of the sittings on the sides of the seat.

Figs. 7 and 8 show a similar structure in which the back is again slightly modified to form spaces for the three separate sittings, one of which is in the rear of the others. This seat also is upholstered in a way common to the automobile industry for seats of this character in runabouts."

To fill out the space 7 in the construction shown in Figs. 5 to 8, I have provided the cushion 5*, as shown in Fig. 9, the said cushion being shown in place in dotted lines in Fig. 7. In this construction I have used straps 8 insteadof a single flap for securing the section 5 in place.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An automobile seat, adapted for a plurality of sittings, provided with a unitary seat portion for all of the sittings having a continuous substantially unbroken front, in

combination with a fixed substantially vertical back rest portion divided into sections for individual back rests, each adjacentindividual back rest being offset one from the other and bounded by substantially parallel planes as and for the purpose set forth.

2. An automobile seat adapted for a plurality of sittings, having a horizontal portion common to all the sittings, vertical portions forming individual back rests for each of the sittings situated in vertical planes one of which extends beyond and is substantially parallel to the other, and a separate and independently movable cushion closely fitting in and substantially filling the recess formed by the first mentioned back portion extending rearwardly beyond the vertical plane of the other back portion.

3. A seat of the class described provided with a fixed back upholstered throughout, one portion of the fixed upholstered back be ing of less thickness than that of the portion adjacent thereto and also of less width than the entire width of the fixed upholstered back, each of the above described back portions forming a back rest for an individual sitting and a removable upholstered section fitting closely within and substantially filling the cavity thus formed.

4:. An upholstered seat of the class described provided with a removable upholstered section in its back and a fixed upholstered back rest section adjacent the removable section, the fixed back section forming a separate and complete back rest cushion for an individual sitting, the removable section covering a separate and complete backrest cushion for an individual sitting and when in place the front surface of the removable section and the front surfaces of the fixed upholstered back rest sections first above mentioned, being each in substantially the same vertical plane.

5. An automobile seat adapted for a plurality of sittings having a horizontal portion common to all the sittings, vertical portions forming individual back rests for each of the sittings situated in vertical planes ex tending beyond and substantially parallel to each other, the adjoining portions forming back rests for-adjacent sittings, and a removable cushion closely fitting in and substantially filling the recess formed by the first mentioned back portion extending be yond the vertical plane of the other back portion to bring all the back rests in substantially the same vertical plane.

6. An automobile seat adapted for a plurality of sittings having a horizontal portion common to all the sittings, an arm rest at each end of the seat portion and aback rest at the rear thereof extending between the arms, a portion of the back rest opposite an individual sitting situated atthe rear of an adjoining portion of the back rest likewise opposite an adjoining individual sitting, In witness whereof I have hereunto set my thereby forming a recess or pockettoreceive hand at the city, county and State of New 10 and position the body of an occupant of one York, this third day of October, 1913.

of the sittings beyond and out of the Way of the body of an occupant of an adjoining WILLIAM C' U sitting and a removable cushion closely fit- In presence of ting in and substantially filling said recess S. E, MILLER, or pocket. I JOHN J. RANAGAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. I 

